Strawberry Shortcake

Just because I am so in love with the new camera, you're being treated to all kinds of goodies that occur often in my kitchen, but I rarely get the chance to photograph, let alone post about.  One of those things is Strawberry Shortcake.  We eat this year round and it is one of hubby's favorite desserts and I love making it.  It's easy to make and I usually have the ingredients on hand.  I actually recruited hubby to photograph the entire cooking session for you so here it goes...

First of all mix all of the dry ingredients together and cut in the butter and shortening until it looks like this:

 

Then, mix in the milk: 

Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet, or I use parchment paper.  You can make them as large or as small as you like, we like ours larger.  

After baking, I usually pile them high with sliced strawberries and fresh whipped cream while they're still hot from the oven.  Sometimes, I'll forgo the fruit and cream and just eat the shortcake soaked in vanilla almond milk.  Very yummy no matter how you eat it.

Shortcake Recipe

Adapted from Alton Brown - Food Network

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 1/4 cup milk

Heat oven 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and shortening. Mix in milk. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve warm or let cool.

Lovely Shrimp Salad Sandwiches

I love this time of year because shrimp is on sale everywhere.  I don't know who decided that New Year's was a time for shrimp but I thank them.  A lot.  I have several bags in the freezer, and finally had a chance to make some last night.  I don't steam our shrimp, I prefer to do a shrimp boil with apple cider vinegar and Old Bay ( I am a Eastern Shore Maryland girl at heart, after all) and boil the shrimp until they're just pink.  Then, I let them rest overnight before peeling them.  It is easier to peel them warm but it's just they way I've always done it and I think they don't get as tough that way.  Sometimes we just eat them smothered in cocktail sauce, but one of our favorites in this house is shrimp salad.  I have changed my recipe quite a bit over the years to be healthier.  I started out with an old bay seasoned sort of mayo, but now it's more cocktail sauce and less mayo but all delicious!  I don't follow a set recipe, just mix it all together until the color looks right.  The shrimp are already fairly seasoned from being boiled in old bay, so if you're using unseasoned shrimp, please remember to salt and season to taste, either with Old Bay or a pepper blend.  I bought club rolls because I am a bit under the weather and not up to making bread but the beautiful lettuce blend and the creamy shrimp salad more than made up for it.  And having a few shrimp left over to eat dunked in cocktail sauce completed the meal!  Just a light supper after a bigger lunch out, so it was perfect. 

Let me also say that the new camera has been fantastic!  I am having fun playing with my photos and hope that everyone reading this is also enjoying the new detail.  I am just so excited to take pictures to share with all of you!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

These are for Santa....yep, that's the story I'm going with.  Actually, the real story is better 'cause we got a new camera for Christmas!!  And, to celebrate, I made cookies.  But I couldn't take any "as cooking" photos because the camera was charging so first thing this morning hubby and I were trying it out.  And as you can see in the picture above, the results are pretty amazing.  I couldn't believe the difference in my photos and I can't wait to take more pictures to share with you.  But, first, do you want a cookie recipe?

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Nestle

Ingredients:  

2 cups all-purpose flour 
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
2 sticks butter or margarine, softened 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 large eggs 
1 2/3 cups (11-ounce package) peanut butter and chocolate chips, or just peanut butter would work too.

Preheat oven to 375.  Then mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl and set aside. Cream butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl.Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg is added. Gradually mix  in flour mixture. Stir in chips by hand.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets or parchment paper.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to cooling racks.  

Vanilla Scones

Okay, so looking over my lack of activity on here reminds me that it is a busy time of the year!  But I decided that yesterday I was going to bake.  No questions.  No excuses.  Baking.  And, I did.  I've had it on my to-do list for awhile that I wanted to do one more gift for the daycare moms, and of course, I thought of scones.  I love the mini baby vanilla scones at Sbux and have been wanting to make them....then I saw this recipe on King Arthur for Vanilla Scones.  They call it a basic scone with ideas for add-ins, but I left them as is on the recipe and added a vanilla flavored glaze to replicate the baby scones, which are drenched in an awesome vanilla bean glaze.  Mine was not nearly as decadent. 

 

They turned out so tasty...even if I did leave them in the oven a twinge too long..I was thinking of full size scones and I made mini ones.  Oops.  The texture was perfect...flaky and dense all at the same time with almost a melt in your mouth texture.  The perfect baby scone!  I hope the daycare moms enjoyed their little gift before the holiday as much as I enjoyed making them for them!

Merry Christmas everyone.  I am planning a waffle bar brunch for Christmas morning with my family, my sister's family and my daughter's boyfriend.  I'm looking forward to creating a new tradition!

Blueberry Muffins with Chia :-)

We're trying to add chia to our diet and picked up some milled chia flour at the store yesterday.  Which begs the question, what do I add it to?  It says you can add it to anything.  I opted for muffins. After my success with the brownies, who knows, they might even taste good.  I decided to use Brown Eyed Baker's recipe which you can find here. I really didn't make any major changes.  I did cut back on the sugar to about 3/4 cup, added in a scoop of chia flour and instead of sour cream I used plain greek yogurt. And her blog was right, these were perfect.  I loved the texture, the chia seeds were there, but no more noticeable than poppy seeds and they added a nice texture I thought.  And these were very pretty muffins!  I don't go to great pains to hide my blueberry swirls because I like the depth it adds, but that's just me.  Feel free to dredge your frozen berries in flour first.

I'm off to have a muffin...or two.  Like Brown Eyed Baker I have a muffin weakness!

Brownie Craving Satisfied

I'm only about two days late in posting this...but I hope you'll forgive me.  It's been busy!  Friday night I decided I wanted to make something decadent for dessert, but not so all out decadent that I gained 5 lbs just looking at it.  So, I settled on brownies.  Hubby usually prefers molten lava cakes - in fact we have them at least once per week.  But, sometimes, you just want something different.

Now, brownies usually fall into the category of muffins for me.  I cheer when they're successful, but more often than not, I'm disappointed in the result.  I just can't seem to find that balance of fluffy and dense that makes it just perfect.  My brownies this time were a bit on the fluffier side but still one of my best efforts to date.  I'd much rather make a cake...or cupcakes...or bread.  Those are like old reliable for me.  Always consistent.  Always as expected.

But, the brownies really did hit the spot...even if the denseness of the brownie was missing.  Hubby liked eating the batter which had a good flavor, and that's his favorite part anyway.  I think I could make batches of batter, freeze it and take it out and thaw it for him when a craving hits and he'd be good with that!

So, I actually have a recipe...

Peanut Butter Cocoa Brownies
(based on Betty Crocker's Cocoa Brownies)

3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Microwaved for about 30 seconds - so some are melted, some are not)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream sugar and margarine, then add vanilla and eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in greased 8-inch square pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut in squares.

Next time, I will cut the eggs to 1 and up the butter to 3/4 cup and I think I will get the fudgier texture I'm looking for.

Hot Cocoa Party

Yesterday was a special day at our child care...pjs and hot cocoa with a Christmas movie.  Great memories to be made!  We skipped all "school" activities for the day - put blankets and pillows all over the floor and just vegged out a bit.  It's fun to turn off the routine for a day, and just snuggle and enjoy these fleeting moments of being a kid.  Of course, life is not perfect so some hot cocoa was spilled, pillows were fought over but in the end, we had a good day. 

Just setting up for movie time was fun - I made plates with lukewarm cocoa (Can't be too hot for kids, they will NOT drink it.  I learned that a long time ago!), a Christmas colored napkin, some snowman cookies and some marshmallows to add to their cocoa.  It was so cute seeing them all use real mugs to drink!  They were so happy with themselves.   

If you have a chance to take a day and spend it in your pjs, drinking hot chocolate and watching Elf....grab it.  Days like that don't come along often. 

Easy Monday Breakfast

I like to have hot, healthy meals for the daycare kiddos but Mondays are a chaotic mess of getting this and that sorted out and trying to prevent any issues from cropping up in the five minutes it takes to even pour cereal.  It's a rough start to the week for us adults, and the kids feel it too.  It takes an hour for them to chill, get used to the routine again and settle into to playing and loving each other again.  But when I noticed the loaf of french bread that never made it out to the party spread Saturday night, I knew I could whip up some overnight baked french toast and give them a happy start to the week.  Of course, I had to steal a few slices to eat with some brie I had to have from Wegman's but that is another tale for another time....

I happened to also have some leftover cream, so it was even richer than my normal use of skim milk.  I had about 3/4 of a large loaf that I cubed, and in a separate bowl I mixed 3 eggs, 3 T of brown sugar, 2 t of cinnamon, and 1 t of vanilla and added in about 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cream.  I wish I was a more exact baker for all of you.  I am more a "pinch of this, pat of that" sort of cook.  I feel badly sometimes that I even have a blog for cooking because I am so NOT a professional type chef!  But I do love to cook, and I do love to share.  So, here I am.  Anyway, back to the "recipe" I whisk all the ingredients except the bread with a wire whisk until fluffy and then toss the bread cubes in the mixture.  I put the whole thing in a greased 8" by 11" pan and then I cover it with foil and put in the fridge overnight.  This morning, I popped it into a preheated 350 oven for about 45 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes and it was perfect!  Just a bit browned on top and nice and gooey in the center.  We all had a good breakfast today!

Apple Turnovers...with a Yummy Twist!

 

Oh, man, am I going to have to run tonight...but it was so worth it!!  Look at those apple turnovers and tell me that you would be able to resist.  I was pretty impressed I held myself off at one.  

I've been baking on and off for the past few days trying to prep Christmas party goods as well as gifts, so the last thing I needed was another baking project but these ingredients just spoke to me this morning.  As I was moving from thing to thing this morning, I happened to think about how I've had a large amount of caramel sauce that hubby brought home from work in the cupboard, there's some peanut butter caramel spread I found at Harry & David's that I HAD to have and could be used up and some extra pie crust that never got used at Thanksgiving that I either need to freeze or use.  Add those three ingredients to some wonderful organic apples I found on sale 2 nights ago and you've got the above picture.  Total yumminess.  (I still love that word!)

And, really, compared to anything else that's been coming out of my kitchen lately, it was pretty simple and straightforward.  I just diced some apples, added in about two tablespoons of the peanut butter and one tablespoon of the caramel and microwaved all of it for about a minute.  Then I cut the pie crust into pie wedged shapes, I was hoping for an inside out sort of pie effect, and put the filling inside the two wedges, crimping the edges.  See, simple.  I baked it at 350 since I already had some cupcakes in the oven at that temp and just watched them closely.  I would have preferred 325 but the 350 didn't seem to cook them too quickly.  Once they were golden brown, I took them out, let them cool slightly and then drizzled some warmed caramel sauce on top.  They would be pretty heavenly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  

 A nice treat on another dreary day around here!!

I can't believe I've never mentioned our obsession with waffles...

As I went to write this morning, I didn't want to be redundant and post a waffle recipe that I'd already posted so I looked.  I was amazed when I realized that I never have before.  Shocked is a better word.  We are waffle people here.  The daycare kids are waffle people, too.  We are such waffle people that we have burned through several waffle makers in our home over the past 2 years.  Our sole Black Friday purchase was a Cuisinart Griddler from Lowe's (69.95!) and we bought waffle plates for it from Amazon because our newest waffle maker was about to die too.  So, this morning hubby and I got to give it it's first run through...

See our batter waiting patiently for the Griddler to heat up?

We weren't disappointed.  We expected that a do-it-all machine wouldn't have the outside crisp of a true wafflemaker, and it didn't as much as we liked but it makes 4 good sized waffles per turn - as opposed to the one round of each of our past waffle makers.  When you have six kids hungrily waiting for breakfast - that's a HUGE plus!!! 

Good surface coverage!

 

 

 

 

While hubby was making the waffles (almost always his job...pancakes too.) I got our toppings together.  Fresh whipped cream...

Waffles aren't waffles without whipped cream!  :)

And then I got strawberries for him, blueberries for me.  Just to be different I guess.  We usually have just strawberries.  So, are you anxious to see the finished product?

I'll wait as you finish drooling...







All better yet?





They were some pretty good waffles for versatile machine.  We made paninis on it too but nothing spectacular.  I'm hoping to try some cuban paninis on it today and see how it goes.

Now, I'm off to clean up the mess. But I'll leave you with a final pic and a recipe.  Good morning!!

I took this recipe from my tried and true Betty Crocker red cookbook.  I love that cookbook for the basics.  We've tried lots of recipes but this one is always consistent, I've always got the ingredients on hand and it is my go-to waffle recipe!

Betty Crocker Waffles

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of melted margarine or butter, or 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1-3/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs until flully. Add in the rest of the ingredients and combine until smooth, but don't over mix. Pour batter into waffle iron, I usually do it at 350. Bake according to manufacturer directions or until steam stops, about 5 minutes.

I think it says it makes 15 4 inch waffles but we got 12 out of our maker this morning.  It does make a lot though, and it is easily scaled back if needed.  

So completely off schedule and trying to be okay about it.

I glanced at my weekly menu this morning and just shook my head.  There was no order to my carefully planned week, just complete chaos.  Nothing went as planned and my menu was no exception.  Why can't life just be...I don't know even know what I want to write there.  So I'll just ask why?  And the answer?  I don't know.  Because it is.  Judging from my rambling start to this post, is it any wonder my menu and planning are completely in the dumpster? 

So many questions...

Tonight is supposed to be Ham & Split Pea Soup with rolls.  Except I never got to the store to get split peas.  But, that's okay because hubby asked for fish.  Time to regroup and make a new plan.  After a few glances in the freezer and cupboard, I think I've decided to go with Breaded Flounder over Rice Pilaf with Roasted Veggies.  And maybe a salad to start it off.  But the way things are going for me lately, who knows what I'll actually end up serving. 

And don't get me started on tomorrow's menu.  Banana Nut pancakes with no bananas in the house should be an interesting trick.  Hope everyone out there is having a good week and eating some yummy food!

Last of the Pumpkin...for now, at least!

After a few heart-wrenching days, I came home from my grandma's funeral today and just needed to bake.  Just having that smell in the air, and being able to feed my family something I made was really important at that moment.  So, after a quick glance in the fridge, I decided that the last bit of pumpkin leftover from making Thanksgiving desserts would work well.  I decided to use a cake mix as my base because, although I was ready to bake, I wasn't entirely ready for all the clean up and steps.  Baby steps here.  So I used a yellow cake mix, added in the pureed pumpkin (about a cup or so) and 3 eggs.  Mixed it together, put it in muffin tins and was just about ready to put in the oven (at 350) when the combo of cream cheese and pumpkin started calling my name.  So, I set the tins aside and went to work making a bit of a cheesecake filling; 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and about 2 tablespoons of flour.  I creamed it together and put a dollop on each muffin and then swirled it.  Then, I finally put in the oven!  The next 25 minutes of the house smelling festive again were wonderful.  I took them out and tried to let them cool but couldn't resist popping one out hot and eating it.  It was just what I needed. 

Sometimes, you just gotta bake! 

A Week of Thanksgiving

This has been a busy week.  I don't mind busy but this was the kind of busy that occasionally sent me into a "need a nap now" mode and that doesn't happen often.  The emotional drain of losing my grandmother as well as the start of the holiday season just took it's toll on me.  But instead of allowing the stress to take over, I am instead going to spend time giving thanks for everything that I have in my life.  It's so easy to forget how much we have when the walls are crumbling around us.  It's the difference between standing still and moving forward when those moments happen.  Give thanks for every bit of positive in your life and it will be repaid. 

My list of thankfulness has to start with God.  I am beyond thankful and in awe that He has allowed me to have the life I do.  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Philippians 4:13" is a verse that comes to mind often.   This life I get to lead is not because of me, it's in spite of me far too often.  God keeps letting me screw up and still keep moving forward despite my shortcomings. 

My husband is my rock.  He is the one person who knows me better that just about anyone else on this planet, and he still loves me.  I know he has to shake his head sometimes, just wondering what the heck he did to deserve my craziness.  But he keeps on keeping on, no matter what.  I am thankful for him and I thank God every day that he brought us together.

My children are my blessings.  I am trying hard to learn to be a "letting go" parent as they get older and let them find their path, tough as that is.  Being their mom has been an awesome responsibility and a blessing to be part of their lives.  The road isn't always an easy one, but their love makes it worth it.  

I am thankful for all of my family - my nieces and nephews, my siblings, my cousins, etc, etc.  I love having them around me, and I am blessed beyond measure to have them in my life.  Our circle keeps getting bigger and it's so wonderful.  I love seeing how they grow and change and where we're all headed in our lives.  I would be listing people all day individually, so please know that I love each of you and I am thankful to be part of your family. 

Child care is really more than my job, it is who I am and I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of so many childrens' lives.  And, some of my best friends started out as parents of children in my care and that was an unexpected, but lovely, blessing.  The children keep me moving, keep me challenged and are unwavering in their childhood appreciation of the little things.  I learn a lot from them. 

"Friends are family you choose for yourself"  Ever heard that quote?  It's so true and I have the most wonderful, supportive extended family I could ever dream of having.  They support me when I'm down, the encourage me when I'm trying, they make me laugh when I'm crying and sometimes just sit and hold my hand.  My friends rock!

Food!  Don't worry, I won't forget the food.  The food is what brought this blog out of me.  I love writing and sometimes wish I had the time to do more of it, but this blog has allowed me to bring together my love of creating healthy, good food for my family and friends and write about it.  How wonderful is that?  I know I need to get back to some food posts - I really haven't forgotten that is the reason I'm here!

Last, but not least, I am thankful that I am a runner.  Being a runner has opened doors for me - physically, mentally and socially.  I've met great people through running who I now call friends!  I know I can accomplish so much more than I ever thought I could - races, bike rides, and the list will continue to grow because I took that first step almost 3 years ago.  Mentally, when life just gets to be too much, I head out for a run and lose myself in it.  Problems seem smaller and my place in this crazy world is restored for awhile as I hit the trails or the road.  It's all about that journey and I'm thankful to be on it.  

As I get older, I am learning to be more appreciative of all of the many facets of life.  No tomorrow is every guaranteed to us so live each day as if it could be your last and make sure that everyone around you knows how much you love them.  When my grandmother died on Friday, it was sad, but beyond the sadness was peace, joy and love.  Peace that she's in heaven singing in a choir of angels - she even spent her last days singing quietly to herself at times.  Joy that she is no longer in pain and her body is no longer broken by age, disease or sickness.  She is a radiant version of my spunky grandma from my childhood.  And love because she was love.  She gave love freely to all of us, telling us how much she loved us often.  She never held a grudge and was always in your corner.  Her love will live on in so many ways.   

With Love to Grandma

I spent the day with my Grandma yesterday, saying my goodbyes and sharing memories with family.  Like so many people, I loved heading to Grandma's for a visit when I was a kid.  She is so easy-going and laid back and it was a child's dream to have that kind of love and support.  She fostered my love of the creative cooking - she let me run wild in her kitchen and I spent many nights creating all kinds of odd dishes to serve for breakfast.  And she always ate them.  Even when my cousins and I woke her up at 4 am to eat them because we just couldn't wait any longer to share them.  Like my Aunt Joyce said yesterday, "she was usually up for just about anything."  She carted us grandkids around, hauling pets, kids, friends, toys, etc...anything you "had" to have for a visit!  Once I got punished when I was about 13, and I felt like the world had come to an end and I'd never survive...and then I got a card from my Grandma.  I've never forgotten it.  It had Maxine in it from Hallmark, and it said on the front, "I find when I get upset, a nice bubble bath helps" and on the inside it said "I've been in here since last week."  It reminded me that her love was always there, even when I screwed up. Something I needed to hear pretty badly at that moment.

As I grew up, her love and support never ceased.  She was the one person in my family to stand by me when times got tough - even when I was the reason they were tough.  She always told me what she thought, and she never pulled any punches, but she always tempered it with love.  She was a gift, a treasure.

This morning I woke up with a million memories swirling around in my head.  I know her time is short and because she is over an hour away, visiting her takes a big chunk out of a busy life so I'm not sure I'll have another chance to see her before her time comes.  I hope I do, but if I don't, I know that she knows I love her just as much and just as unconditionally as she has always shown love to me.  I didn't want to leave her last night but my comfort came in knowing that she knew that too.  I love her more than I could ever express into words, in thoughts, in any way.  I just adore that woman!!

So, with those thoughts and memories, I decided to bake.  And I made cinnamon rolls.  I know how much she loved my cooking and baking so these were made in honor of her love that helped mold me into who I am today.  I know that her love will live on in me, and that when the time comes I will be that Grandma.

I love you, Grandma.

I'm still a kid...

Do you need proof?  Here's my morning hot chocolate...

I think there is a reason I am a child care provider.  :)  I enjoy the little flashes of laughter in my day, the giggles at all the things that us adults forget is funny.  There is a host of other reasons that I love my job, but being able to drink hot chocolate with colored marshmallows and not get one little raised eyebrow is a big perk!  And the kids love my cooking - well, they love the baking more than the cooking, but that's normal, I think.  Sometimes the cooking is just a bit too healthy and I get an upturned nose, but it's not often.  I try to make things for them that are healthy, as well as enjoyable to eat.  I succeed most days.  Childhood is such a great time to introduce all kinds of healthy foods to create a lifelong love of real food.  

I wish my own kids were young again so I could have a do-over on their eating habits.  They are 16 and 20 and don't share our love of all things healthy.  I still serve it but unfortunately there comes a point when they can buy their own food and snacks and you lose control as a parent over what they put into their bodies.  I only hope that they'll remember at some point and carry that through with them when they become parents.  I am just glad that I've been able to expose them to a wide range of foods and dishes.  

As a kid, my diet was a bit atypical.  We ate mostly fish - caught by my parents and either eaten fresh or frozen, and venison  - again killed and fresh frozen by my parents.  Add to that mostly things my parents grew in the garden and that was the basics of our meals.  To this day, I have a lot of issue eating venison.  It's like I reached some sort of limit for it and that was it.  I don't eat meat in any form very often, so it's not entirely surprising but such a reversal from my childhood.  I am thankful for the early exposure to fresh veggies though.  There really isn't a veggie I don't like.  I love them all, and can eat them raw, cooked, baked, anything.  I just love them.  I didn't appreciate the garden, the fresh meat, etc, when I was growing up, but I sure do look back and think how lucky we were to have had such a good food foundation.  

Now, I have my own garden, I grind my own wheat, I bake my own bread and I rely on canning and freezing fresh foods in season to get us through the winter.  My childhood has come full circle!  So, there is hope that my own children will find their way back too.  

So, for today, try to just let a little childhood into your day.  Smile...and not just because it's Friday!  :) 

Wednesday's ramblings

I started out this morning determined to not serve quick and easy to the daycare kids so I used some instant oatmeal in the cupboard as the base for a healthy muffin.  Muffins are not typically great results for me, but these were pretty good.  I used 3 packets of blueberry muffin oatmeal, added in about a cup of milk, 3 teaspoons of baking powder an egg, and a tablespoon of melted butter.  In the end, I wish I had used 2 tablespoons of butter but other than that, it was a great little muffin and the kids ate them up!  I bet fresh blueberries could also be added to make them even more healthy and moist.

Tonight's a dinner out for me and the hubby!  I love those date nights - I think we're headed for Mexican food and I am pretty excited.  I never did get around to my weekly menu, but so far we've avoided the take out call.  Tonight's meal was planned already so I'm giving myself a pass to enjoy.  Not to mention it's raining here again and I am not seeing a pleasant run in my future with a chilly rain + the beginning of a chest cold.  We're already signed up to run a 10 mile run on Sunday so I want to give myself permission to rest a bit before then and hopefully knock this cold out of me.  All of the daycare kids have been sick so I'm sure this is just a byproduct of my profession. 

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I hope it's a great rest of the week...hopefully I'll have more yummy stuff to share soon!

Fall Leftover Casserole

Doesn't this just look like a bite of fall flavor?

Really, I am not sure what else I would call tonight's dinner.  It was so pretty...very similar to the Jamaican Jumble I made a few months ago, but in a completely different category at the same time.  It had all the basic fall components...squash, swiss chard, cranberries, pecans; and just because we had some leftover in the fridge, diced pork tenderloin.  I used a sweeter spice mix with it -  cinnamon, clove, allspice - and baked everything but the cranberries and pecans together.  I reduced the cranberries and pecans down on the stove into a sort of chutney texture and spread that on top of the casserole before serving.  I loved it.  And I loved that it was a healthy meal, and cleaned out some leftovers.  A win-win!! 

Still haven't worked out the Thanksgiving menu.  Seems like I just am avoiding it so I need to just sit and force myself to work out.  I was thinking about it while I ran last night but just ended up drifting off and letting my mind wander while I pounded the pavement.  I guess I needed that more!! 

Menu? What menu?

I am a planner.  And I tend toward the OCD side of the planning.  I obsess, I plan, I obsess some more...you get the picture.  So, as the daycare kids were coming in this morning they were asking "What's for breakfast?", this question is really only second to "What's for lunch?" on the repetition scale of my day. Throw in a few "he hit me" and "Miss Sheri" and you've got my day in a nutshell.  But I am getting sidetracked.  I head out to the side of refrigerator where I hang each week's menu only to discover....there's not a menu.  I completely, in my errand and cleaning crazed weekend to do a menu.  WHAT????  I FORGOT to do the menu.  I am seriously starting to consider whether the hit I took to the head while doing our night time trail run a few weeks back was worse than I thought.  I screwed up food recipes for my coffee party, I have no weekly menu, and don't even ask what happened to half of our pot of coffee today. It's just too painful to discuss. Oh, and even worse is my apple pie that somehow turned out looking more like applesauce pie.  What in the heck is going on around here?!?

So, I took a quick inventory of what I had on hand and declared english muffins and bananas today's breakfast winner.  Not inventive, not creative but on hand and ready in a few minutes.  I had gathered my senses a bit by lunch and we had homemade mac and cheese but dinner.  Well, I am scrambling in my head.  I am sure I'll have it figured out by the time we get there but it's hard to do my job and plan out anything that requires concentration so our actual menu for the remainder of the week won't be done until tonight.  The only free night I have this week.  Yep, I'll be doing more household chores after working all weekend to make sure our calendar was clear for this week.  And maybe I can find some semblance of sanity that allows me to return to cooking, planning and just in general being myself again.  Is that too much to ask???

Seriously though, all of the food has been edible and tasted good, just not how I pictured it.  The coffee overflowing was a fluke (I hope!), and I at least did some grocery shopping so there is food to work with in the house.  Just need that framework to avoid the call of the "take out monster" 

Enjoy the week...massive planning will be underway this weekend for my Thanksgiving feast. I was planning on it this week but it just doesn't look like it will happen.  And, for once, my OCD side is okay with that! 

The Tale of a Bad Day of Baking

Baking is fun.  Baking is relaxing.  Baking is my refuge.

The above statements describe most days for me.  Today was not one of those days.  I hosted a coffee party tonight with a few friends and decided to make some treats to go along with our coffee tasting.  I wanted to branch out a bit because most of these friends have sampled my tried and true favorite recipes and I didn't want to make the same old thing.  And so, I decided, I would make some new recipes.  Maybe I'd find a new favorite?  Well, spoiler alert, I definitely did not find any new favorites.

On the menu...a chocolate sponge caked rolled around a cream cheese frosting, a lemon cookie bar and some cheddar cheese scones.  Sounds yummy, doesn't it? 

I had made plans to run in the afternoon at 1 pm, and also I took my son early to do one last practice run before his driver's license test next weekend, so there was a small window in the middle of those took obligations.  We returned home around 9 am so I had more than a few hours.  Well, the lemon bars crumbled apart taking them out of the pan, my sponge cake didn't turn out spongy at all and my cheddar cheese scones were okay but not very scone-like in appearance and a little bland in taste.  And it was 11 am now.  I ran to the store for some white chocolate, then back at home I mixed the lemon bar crumbs into some strawberry preserves to make cake balls, popped them in the freezer and set to work on making the chocolate roll's icing.  I melted the white chocolate, dipped the frozen cake ball mix in and let it harden.  I spread the icing on the chocolate cake and rolled it up as best I could and then set to work on the scones.  I thinly sliced apple and laid that on top of the scone and also added some shredded cheese.  I put those back in the oven and hoped that would help.

Once time for the party came, I was a wreck over the food.  I felt like it wasn't worth serving it, but I needed something out so I smiled and did it anyway.  And everyone seemed to like the food.  I don't have many bad days in the kitchen, but this was one of them.  Hopefully it will be the last one for awhile.  I am not sure if the rushing around caused it or if it was just the lack of experience with each recipe.  I may try again, but not all at once and not anytime soon.

Our coffee party spread - unattractive but still pretty yummy!

Of course now it's time to plan Thanksgiving...hopefully that is a good day of baking!

I Love Salad

I really think the title sums it up nicely. I am a huge salad lover.  It is one of my favorite "go-to" meals and I sometimes eat two or three salads a day.  Today's lunch?

Yummy!  It's one of my favorite combos...fruit in my salad is always welcomed and blue cheese is invited to almost every plate.  :-)  This particular salad is made with Olivia's Spring Mix (one of my favorites when my own garden is not producing lettuce) topped with a fuji apple sliced fairly thing, craisins - I think my love of this ingredient is already known on this blog, blue cheese and some pecans.  I topped it off with my new favorite dressing, Panera Bread's Fuji Apple Dressing.  I love that stuff!  If I'm not having a fruit salad, honey mustard is my top pick, but the Fuji Apple is pretty amazing stuff.  I found a whole thread of info related to this dressing here, so it's not just me who thinks it's great.  I do want to try my hand at making it myself next time around. 

So, besides eating salad, what else have I been up to?  Well, I made a pumpkin roll yesterday to surprise the hubby when he woke up, and then I made some oatmeal bread.  It seems to be the only bread I've been making lately so I know it's a favorite.  Last night hubby and I both ran, but at separate locations because of daylight savings time, so I cheated and we ate take out paninis from the little Italian restaurant we love.  I love their crabcake paninis!!!  I'm a big time Old Bay girl, so it took some getting used to with a more Italian infused flavor, but now I am completely in love with them.  They also have a crab cake platter with two huge crabcakes stuffed with gorgonzola cheese and apples.  Heavenly!!!  I don't even attempt to recreate them because it's more fun just ordering them.  The chef there is amazing to watch and I can't begin to describe the heavenly aromas when you walk in the door.  They do it right, that's for sure!  So glad we live nearby...

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and has enjoyed my salad view...I'm slowly adding meat back into my diet but I don't think I'll ever give up the meat-free salads!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Isn't that how the song goes?  I guess it is...I love the holidays.  But I don't love the chaos that often accompanies it.  I love thinking about my gift list, planning each item out specifically what would make the recipient smile.  I won't say I've never bought a gift card, but I would like to think that the older I get, the more personal and thought out with love my gifts have become.  My goal this year is to just soak in the holiday season.  I want to really just immerse myself in it - not because it's expected or I think I should - but because I am thankful each day to live the life that I lead, and sharing that love and thankfulness with others is something that I hope I can do each day. 

This week's dinners are pretty easy.  Nothing too crazy around here.  With the puppy and the kids' schedules, there just isn't much time for crazy.  :-)

Tonight: Beef with Barley Casserole (we like the barley too much to make it soup!) in the crockpot
Tuesday: Shrimp Fried Rice with Egg Rolls
Wednesday: Going out with the hubby to a favorite Peruvian/Mexican restaurant.
Thursday: Lasagna
Friday: Tossed Salad with Crispy Chicken Tenders and Honey Dijon Dressing

I will admit that hubby and I already sampled the casserole and it is pretty yummy!  Nothing too hard - browned some beef cubes in garlic, oil and salt and then put in the crockpot with some cooked barley, carrots and mushrooms along with some beef stock.  Yummy!  Add in some bread and it will be a nice warm meal now that it's getting chilly.

I soon will be deciding on my Christmas cookie list too.  It's a big affair around here!  I make a list of all the cookies, a master list of ingredients and then head out to shop. Then for a few weeks, I bake, adding new cookies to a box in the freezer as I go.  Once they're all done, I assemble plates of cookies to go to friends, family and ALWAYS to hubby's work.  I love sharing all the seasonal yummies.  Last year I added in some new candies.  I didn't hear one complaint. 

Neglecting my blog, but not my kitchen

I feel so badly.  Things have just been so hectic that it feels like it's been forever since I've added a new post to my blog.  My, luckily for my family at least, I've been hard at work in the kitchen!  I have been processing apples the past week or so - applesauce, apple butter and apple juice are all prepped and stored.  I have about 1/2 a bushel of apples to go but I need to get to the store to get more jars for canning. 

My fall garden crops have been coming in nicely...especially the swiss chard.  It's so beautiful!  I blanched and froze a batch of it last week and it's getting to be time to do it again.  Especially since there is SNOW ?!? on the forecast for tomorrow.  I hope that the parsnips and turnips survive because they're not ready for harvesting.  Fingers crossed there big time!!

And my obsession lately has been pumpkin...pretty much anything pumpkin will do.  In the past week I've made pumpkin scones, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin roll, pumpkin muffins....you name it, I've made it!  I have a pumpkin gratin recipe that looks pretty awesome that I'd like to give a try once I get my hands on some more fresh pumpkin.  As well as this tantalizing looking pumpkin candy I keep seeing recipes for.  It's not fall around here until we're sick to death of the taste of pumpkin.  And even then, I'll keep making it.  I actually was thinking of making pumpkin rolls as gifts this year, maybe even instead of cookies...gasp!  The horror of no cookies.  My husband's coworkers might revolt.  Maybe I'll make them cookies and everyone else gets pumpkin rolls.  :-)

So, I'm here, busy cooking, baking, running, as well as keeping overly busy with the child care.  The group I have right now is wonderful but requires a lot of planning and activity to keep them focused.  And all of that adds up a very tired Sheri!
 

Cranberry Brie Scones

Cranberry Brie Scones, Pumpkin Scones and Pumpkin Muffins.  All delicious!

So, this is a recipe I dreamed up a few months ago and finally think I found the right combination of ingredients that came together in just the right way.  My first attempt was much more muffin like, the second was too wet, but this time I think it was just right. 

Cranberry Brie Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t ground nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger
1/4 t salt
1/4 cold butter, chopped for incorporating into flour
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 lb brie, cut into 1/4" cubes.  I remove the rind but whatever is your preference is fine.
1/4 cup sugar, for coating brie, not for including in recipe
3/4 cup of cream
1 egg


Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, mix all dry ingredients (not the white sugar), and then using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks like crumbs.  This step can be done in the food processor with a pastry blade as well (my personal choice!)  Set aside and mix all cream and egg until well blended.  Toss the brie cubes in the sugar until coated,  set aside.  Mix the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.  Fold cranberries and brie cubes into mixture.  Form a round and cut into wedges.  Bake for about 20 minutes, about 15-20 minutes.  Put on cooling rack when done baking.   

These scones are truly amazing!  I love brie so much that I would eat it in just about anything, and I feel pretty similarly about scones.  Combining the two loves has been a fun experiment.  The brie just oozes enough from a hot scone to make it impossible for all of the scones to make it to cool, because I can't resist sampling.  Enjoy!

I should add that the above pumpkin muffins are from a recipe by Smitten Kitten that I have made several times and can't seem to screw up even though I am not a muffin person.  I ALWAYS mess them up somehow, someway.  It's nice when you find something that works so well. 

Back to Reality

This past weekend, I headed to Ocean City, MD with several friends for our annual Winefest weekend.  It was a fantastic time.  We sampled wine all day Saturday by the beach and were blessed with beautiful weather.  Then, Saturday night, a friend, Lisa, and her mom, Karen, treated us to a beautiful fondue spread worthy of any special event.  It was a beautiful cap to a beautiful day.  We had two bouillons, two cheeses and two desserts.  Yummy stuff!!!  I wish I could say I had recipes to share, but trust me, it was fantastic.  I will have to ask Lisa for recipes to share with you.  Her mom and her are the masterminds with fondue pots!

So, forgive me for not blogging sooner.  I got hit with a cold on our return and have been struggling to get "back to reality" while recovering from a cold and missing our ocean view.  Last night I did finally get up and make dinner.  Italian Chicken Subs.  I thought it was pretty impressive given the level of "cold-weary" I felt.  Tonight Spaghetti is on the menu and I am thankful for an easy to cook but comfort food sort of meal.  I am feeling so much better but not 100% yet so it should be a nice evening.  I would love to get out and run this cold out of me, but I'm just not sure that my legs would cooperate!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Hopefully I'll make something blog-worthy in the coming days.  :-)

Cream of Wheat Pancakes

So, this morning was Cream of Wheat pancakes.  One of my favorite breakfasts!  We had these at an IHOP years and years ago (Country Griddle Cakes they're called, I think) and fell in love with the texture.  I've played with recipes a lot getting it just so.  It had to be somewhat healthy, but still the same pancake and I think this is the best adaptation because we've been using for years now.

Cream of Wheat Pancakes


Dry:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cream of wheat, not prepared
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all dry ingredients together well, set aside.

Wet:
1 egg
1 1/2 cup milk, with 1 TB of white vinegar added ( buttermilk was originally called for but this lightens it up and I never seem to have buttermilk here, even when I put it on my grocery list!)
1/4 cup oil

Mix all wet ingredients together well and then mix into the dry ingredients. 

We use a griddle set at about 350 and cook each pancake for about 3 min per side.  Serve with whatever syrup, fruit or just plain too.   They're pretty great that way too because it is not a dry kind of pancake. 

In my house, hubby is the pancake/waffle cook and all I have to do is make the batters so these breakfasts are a nice treat all around.  He even does the same for the daycare morning meals.  The kids love it!

Menu Planning

I am so happy to be back to my blog today!  I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Saturday.  Typing has been a bit difficult lately because I have a pinched nerve in my neck and typing seems to aggravate it.  But today, I'm soldiering through because I just wanted to be here and share!

I was reading an article this morning about how much money menu planning can save a family, and after spending $140 at the grocery store this morning, I thought it might be nice if I shared my weekly menu with everyone out there - every little bit helps!  My budget is a bit higher because I also feed 6 children in my home daycare, in addition to my family of 4, which includes my adult daughter and teenaged son.  We also eat mostly organic, little processed foods which drives our costs up.  I am also a vegetarian so some changes are made for my meals in addition to the family's meals.

So, my weekly menu is this...

Saturday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon and Egg Biscuit sandwiches
Lunch: Chicken soft tacos
Dinner: Pizza, Salad

Sunday:
Breakfast : Cream of Wheat pancakes (one of our favorites!), Sausage
Lunch: Cheeseburger stromboli
Dinner: Leftovers/Sandwiches

Monday:
Breakfast: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Lunch: PB&J;, Sweet Potato Fries, Peach slices
Dinner: Veggie Lasagna

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Cereal Bar,  Banana
Lunch: French Toast, Apple Fries w/PB dip, Shredded Carrot salad
Dinner: Mac & Cheese, Stewed Tomatoes

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast, Baked Apples
Lunch: Mac & Cheese, Fruit Cocktail, Peas & Carrots
Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas, Black Bean & Corn Salad

Thursday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, Smoothie
Lunch: Pizza, Corn, Tossed Salad
Dinner: BBQ Turkey Cutlets, Smashed Potatoes, Veggie mix

Friday:
Breakfast: Waffle, Cherries on top with whipped cream
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, French Fries, Corn
Dinner: Burritos (take out for the family because I'm headed to the beach with some friends!)

So, there's my weekly menu.  Some things to note - I make all of my own bread, pizza crusts, rolls, biscuits, etc.  I also canned most of the fruit that we eat or it's fresh.  Fruit cocktail is the lone exception.  All of these meals are easy prep meals - especially the lunch and breakfasts because I am on call the entire time I'm cooking,  When possible, I plan our dinner menu to prep something for the daycare's lunch the next day.  I also try to prep some things in the evening for the next day. 

I hope this gives all of you some ideas for making a menu for your house.  I am happy to share these recipes as time permits.  I usually search for recipes and tweak them to my own house's preferences. 

Help!

Okay, so I know there are some very talented foodies out there who will instantly be able to offer some ideas.  I'm having "puppy-fried" brain I guess because I am just blank. 

Hubby works at Starbucks and in the past two weeks they have been sending cases of close to expiration dates drink bases and I feel like there should be more to do with them than just make drinks?  Here's what I've got to work with: strawberry sauce (thin and very sweet) that would go into a frappucino, dulce de leche sauce (which sounds like it should be thick but is thin), and white chocolate mocha (which is a lot of sweetened condensed milk, really)

Ideas?  Thoughts? 

Thanksgiving in September

Not a full thanksgiving dinner, but all the tastes and smells of it!  I made turkey rolls with stuffing inside, a nice cranberry relish for the top of them, and then some french cut green beans on the side.  It was a pretty dinner, so nice and colorful.  I think I have decided that one of my favorite go-to ingredients is dried cranberries.  How funny is that???  I mean, they can be sweet or savory, reconstituted or not, and even just eaten by the handful as I'm cooking.  It's just a great ingredient and keeps forever too!  I made my cranberry sauce/relish tonight by boiling dried cranberries in some red wine, water and a splash of sweeter spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of allspice and clove.  Very autumn smelling in the house as I cooked. 

And to make a great dinner even better, I made some rice pudding out of leftover Chinese food rice this afternoon.  I LOVE rice pudding and it was a great treat.  Very simple - about 2 cups rice, a bit less than 2 cups milk, 1 egg, some cinnamon.  Bring to a boil, then let cool.  Doesn't get much easier than that! 

Welcoming Troop to our crazy life!

What a busy weekend...I feel like I start every thought, every post, most conversations with how busy we are so I guess that's just our life.  And, just to throw a bit more crazy into it, we added a new member to our family this weekend.  His name is Troop, short for Trooper Earl (don't ask.  really, it's more of a long, drawn out sort of discussion than a story.) and he seems to be integrating himself easily and quickly into our lives which is a big relief to me.  He's a Doberman, so he'll be a big boy...add that to two black labs already in residence in our home and the dogs just may outweigh the humans someday.  :)  He is intended to be a running partner for me someday when he grows into those huge paws and lanky legs, but in the meantime, he's a pretty mellow cuddler.  He made it through the first night at home last night quite easily and I even got some sleep.  With Troy's work schedule being atypical and mine being at home, most of Troop's care and training will fall to me as our other dogs have so I always feel like I get a bit of special bond with each one before they go on to be "family dogs."  I hope that Troop will be the same.  Or maybe a part of me hopes that he won't go on to be the "family dog" at all and loves his momma just a bit more.  Since our lab, Sierra, died 4 years ago, I have felt a bit cutoff from the dogs in our life.  Sure, I trained them and made sure they knew the rules and made sure they went out and are fed but that's where it's ended for me.  My heart has always been with my girl, Sierra.  And I still miss her something awful.  She was the most stubborn, brattiest girl but the day she died a part of me went with her.  We already had Cally at that point and she was about 8 months old and already pretty attached to Troy.  When we got Junie, I thought she might fill the void but she really is Jeremy's girl.  So maybe, just maybe, Troop will be mine.  But if not, that's okay too.  I will still love him. 

So, please be patient if I don't get as many posts on here as I have been.  I have a pretty full plate these days with dog training, trying to keep to my marathon training schedule, run my child care business and run my home.  And still find time to be a momma, a wife and all that stuff.  Did I mention that our daughter, Lyndsay, also moved home last month?  So not only am I juggling learning to be momma to a hormonal teenaged boy, but also maintain the balance of parenting an adult child as she navigates what she's headed for in life.  It's a busy time here.  Cooking and baking are my sanity, so you can believe I'm doing it but I don't always get to share it like I want. 

Last night to celebrate Troop's arrival, I made a chocolate fudge cake...yummy!!  Not that he could have any, but us humans sure enjoyed it.  It was a simple adaptation of Hershey's Chocolate Cake Recipe. I just doubled up the boiling water for a fudgier texture.  We don't really love icing here, so a simple ganache for the top and a ribbon peanut butter mixed with confectioners sugar completed the middle of the cake.  Simple, a bit rustic and all chocolate love.  I'm getting hungry for a slice just talking about it. 

I love sharing my life with everyone and I hope you all enjoy hearing about it just a little. Whether it makes you more thankful for your own peaceful existence, or reassures that there are others out there who are just as insane, I'm glad to be a part of it. 

Starting the Weekend Right! With Cinnamon Buns, of course!

Today was bread making morning and as I was rolling out the dough, I got the sudden urge to make Cinnamon Buns.  So, after rolling out enough dough for one loaf, I set to work on making the other lump of bread into ooey, gooey deliciousness.

After spreading butter, cinnamon, sugar and sprinkling some pecans on the rectangle of dough, I rolled it up into a loaf shape and cut out about 1" sections.  These were then placed in a pan that was waiting that I had buttered, added brown sugar and some more pecans in.  Once all sections were cut and placed, I let the batch rise for about 20 minutes and popped into a preheated oven at 375 for about 20 minutes.  Be sure to put them on the middle rack because the top will brown quickly.  You can tent foil over it for about 10 minutes in the beginning if you like but make sure to removed it to get some browning at the end. 

Once it comes out of the oven, pop it over onto a plate or serving platter right away so the sugar doesn't set and make the rolls stick.  Then, you could let them cool, or frost them, or do anything that involves another step, but for me this is the best next step...

I'm so ready for fall and all of it's baking splendor.  Summer baking is just not the same!

Jamaican Jumble

So, my first ever invite to a recipe roundup came from From Arepas to Zwetschgen and I was excited to try it out.  I decided on a Jamaican Jumble after coming up with a casserole that embodied the flavors of the islands but in a way that could be used year round, not just as light summer recipe.  My family really, really liked it. I wish my photo had captured the true essence of the dish better but even still, it is a must try!

Jamaican Jumble Recipe

1 smoked turkey drumstick boiled down until meat is falling off bone, or if not available, a ham hock would work, reserve broth to make rice.
2 baked sweet potatoes, cubed
1 cup black beans, either canned or rehydrated from dry
1 cup red beans, either canned or rehydrated from dry.
2 cups of cooked rice (either made using the turkey broth or stock for a richer flavor)
1/2 cup of green peas, either fresh or thawed from frozen
1/4 cup of chopped green peppers
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
Small bunch (3-4) green onions thinly slices
1/2 cup Jamaican Jerk Sauce (I used World Harbors brand)
Splash of Orange Juice
Enough turkey broth to make everything "wet" but not too much so that it gets soggy.

First, remove all the meat from the turkey leg, and chop or pull apart and set aside,  Mix all ingredients together and then fold turkey meat into the mixture.  Spray a 9' X 13' pan or casserole dish and pour mixture into pan.  Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes covered in foil or until all moisture is absorbed. 

Busy, busy, busy!

I am really not trying to neglect my blog!  The past 7 days have just been so insane that at times I feel like I'm spinning in circles.  But I have been cooking, and thinking about blogging....does that count?  Either way, I have some good ideas spinning around in my head that I'm working on trying to get transferred from in my head onto my blog. 

The weather has changed a bit here, and I can just feel fall coming on!  I love fall cooking - the spices, the pumpkin, the pumpkin, and, oh, did I mention pumpkin!!  Last year our neighbor share a gooseneck pumpkin and I cooked it down and used in my faux Starbucks Pumpkin scones and it was wonderful.  I am hoping to find some on my own this year, as his was a leftover from making pumpkin ale, and I'm not sure if he's repeating that or not this year.  Canned pumpkin will work of course, but fresh cooked pumpkin really added a sweetness and texture that I liked.  A lot.  Maybe a bit too much! 

So, I'm off to get some more to-do's checked off of my list before the little munchkins get up from nap.  But I'll be back here soon, and hopefully ready to share some pics and recipes!

Cookbook Memories

As a kid, I was the dinner cook in my house.  I made a lot of dinners, usually some potato, venison or fish, and vegetable. Nothing spectacular but the usual fare.  I always thought I was a decent cook.  Then I got married to my husband, Troy and tasted his mom's cooking.  Oh my.  I wasn't in the same class as her.  That was for darn sure!!  She baked from scratch, made meals from magazines and cookbooks that looked like the pictures and I was completely in awe, and very intimidated.

I was able to cook with some prepared ingredients, could make cookies, and knew the basics but it was really my mother-in-law who really sparked my love of real cooking.  Her food brought the family together and it was an event every time.  You could feel the love for her family through her cooking and I wanted that for my young family.

My husband's first request proved to be a "test" of sorts, although it was an innocent enough sounding request from him, was no-bakes.  Okay, so some of you out there may be laughing at me.  No-bakes was a test?  Really?  And I call myself a foodie.  Well, for me, at that point, he may as well have been asking me to scale Mt. Everest.  Because a) I had no idea what a no-bake was b) I had no idea how to make them even after he explained what it was.

So, off to his mom I went.  And she laughed at me too - nicely, but still a laugh.  She then handed me a cookbook that I could have that had a recipe in it for no-bakes. So, I made them.   Well, I followed the recipe anyway.  They did not set.  They were a mushy mess that tasted like them but weren't no-bakes.  So I boiled the sugar mixture longer the next time.  Then the cookies set but they crumbled apart and were grainy tasting, and so the back and forth dance of me and the no bakes went for years.  Now, if I'm distracted while cooking we will sometimes get a bit of the graininess in them and it always brings back the flood of memories of those first bits of trial and error in the kitchen.  And the love of a family who fostered my love of cooking.  I am thankful that this cookbook has become battered and beat up looking but it's one of the places I love to look for ideas that make me feel connected to something bigger than myself.  It's an era of cooking before the internet - I can imagine the thrill of first getting a new cookbook like this and getting all the ideas like I do when I visit the blogs I love.

So, last night I told Troy I'd make him cookies if he'd go running with me.  I knew what he'd ask for before we even got done.  So, no bakes were made last night and it inspired this blog post.  I wanted to share how blessed I have been in my life with all my friends, online and otherwise.

 

My No-Bake Cookie Recipe (adapted from above cookbook after much trial and error!)

1 c peanut butter, I use creamy

1 1/2 T cocoa

1/4 milk

1 1/2 c quick cooking oats (dry)

1 c sugar

1/4 c butter

1/2 t salt

1/2 t vanilla

Put sugar, butter, milk, cocoa and salt in larger sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Do not overcook - once at a rolling boil, remove from heat and add peanut butter, oats and vanilla and mix well.  Drop my teaspoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool and set.  

Makes about 2 dozen. 

Dessert first, please!

Easy dinner tonight...Beef Stew in the crockpot.  What could be easier than that?  Not much.  So, once that was all set and cooking, I got to work on a nice dessert.  Something not as easy.  Why?  I don't know.  Because that's me.  I spied some phyllo dough in the freezer and the wheels were set in motion.  I devised a berry strudel made from phyllo dough thinking I had some leftover pie filling to use.  Alas, no, I didn't.  Hmmmm.....well....I remembered there was a triple berry mix of dried berries in the cupboard (I almost always have dried fruit in the house, I love it!)  and I boiled it with enough water to cover it until the berries were soft and then drained them, reserving about half of the liquid and added some rose wine to reduce to a sauce.  Once cooled, I spread the berries onto the dough with walnuts and brown sugar, rolled it into a log shape and brushed it with butter.  I did save a few berries for garnish and also whipped some goat cheese, confectioners sugar and milk together to drizzle on top for a nice creamy note with zing.  I loved how it came out.  I did eat my stew, minus the beef, but was sure to leave plenty of room for what was coming after dinner!